Some Counterpoints to the "Middle Way" Arguments...

By a common Tibetan who believes Rangzen is the best solution for Tibet and that we should openly demand for it. - April 2013

One of the arguments being made in favor of Middleway is that it has International support. I think it is a very weak argument, but it is made nonetheless mainly to imply that Rangzen does not have any such support, which is not true at all. It may be the case that many governments support a resolution through dialogue but we have to look at what that support has got us so far. These western governments whose support we so desperately seek will never sacrifice their economic interests for the sake of Tibetans. One has to just take a quick glance at the recent history to see the evidence of it. How do we know if they genuinely care about us and are not colluding with China.  After all these western countries have a lot invested in China under the protection of the current Chinese Fascistic regime. And increasingly the Chinese government is now starting to invest a lot in these western countries. Why would they want to jeopardise their interests by causing instability in that region. How do we know that they are not feeling so lucky that Tibetans, unlike the Palestinians, are not only so passive but also can be so easily fooled? 

On the other hand, it can be argued that there are equal number of foreign citizens and organizations who support Rangzen if not more. Believe it or not there are people who will come out and support a just cause IF WE FIGHT FOR IT. Even in India, at the recent Solidarity Rally organized by the CTA (no less), majority of the Indian political leaders who spoke at the rally expressed support for Tibet’s Independence.

There is this irrational fear among some Tibetans that if we change our position to complete Independence, we will lose International support. People who think this way are likely to have doubts if our cause is just or whether truth is even on our side. And that is so sad that it is beyond my limited English vocabulary to express. 

As long as our struggle is non-violent there will always be support from people who believe in justice and truth.

Besides, has anybody thought that even if any of these foreign governments want to support Independence, how can they express it openly when our own government is saying we don’t want independence? No one wants to look like a fool. In other words, we won’t know if they will support us or not until we ourselves change our position. And there is no real reason to believe that they won’t support Independence for Tibet. And even if they don’t, should it really matter? Shouldn't we be fighting for what is rightfully ours any ways?

It is also being claimed that there are a lot of Chinese Buddhist supporters of Middleway. This drum is beaten so loudly these days that we are led to imagine Dharamsala must be overflowing with Chinese pilgrims. Well where are they? Even if there are Chinese Buddhist supporters, it should be questioned whether they are just dharma fans or whether they genuinely believe in a political solution between Tibet and China. Besides, there is no shortage of nut-jobs and self-serving people in this world who would say and do anything to be photographed with a world-famous person, just to boost their pathetic profile. Remember Shoko Asahara? The last thing we want is a Chinese mental patient slashing little Chinese school children with knife after returning from a visit to Dharamsala. I don’t know how much Chinese support we currently have,but if such a thing happens, I can guarantee you there will be no shortage of Chinese anger and hatred towards us.

One thing that needs to be clarified (and I blame the Rangzen advocates for not doing a good job of it) is that Rangzen advocates are not saying we will never negotiate with the Chinese. If there is to be a solution to our situation, of course there will have to be some sort of political negotiation. We will have to co-exist with the Chinese. And of course we are aware of that inevitable fact. But the difference between us and the Middleway is that before any such negotiation occurs we will always reserve our Right to Independence. That is something so sacred that we cannot give up. Such a negotiation will be on equal footings, between two nations. Therefore, our negotiation cannot occur in China. It has to occur in the presence of a neutral third country or at International stage. And furthermore, any negotiation with the current Fascist/Communist regime of China, which is directly responsible for all our plight,is almost out of the question.

Perhaps a stronger argument for Middleway is that it is practical and pragmatic, that it benefits both sides. But even if that is true ... Let’s say China and Tibet are equally skilled chess players (although that is a topic for another lengthy debate, let’s put that aside), how can Tibet expect to win the game by surrendering the Queen before it even begins? Also it is highly debatable that this solution is equally beneficial for both parties. A good businessman always sets the price high so that he will make profit even if he had to negotiate it down to the amount the customer can agree. Some might argue that the current situation is a small set back and that no harm has been done. No it is not. No real negotiations had even begun after all those talks. All they were doing was debating on the ground rules. The Tibetan delegation was being scolded repeatedly for being “mischievous”. In the end they came back with nothing. I don’t have to prove this; go ask Gyari Lodoe and Kesang Gyaltsen, the two superstars of Middleway. And now Beijing has rejected all possibility of any future talks. In other words, we have been completely snubbed, ridiculed, insulted,spit on, slapped and kicked between the eyes. So whether the Middleway proponents admit it or not that is the current result of this “mutually benefit”solution. AND we already gave up on Independence.

Middleway proponents are like someone who gambled and lost all his money and is now taking his anger out on his wife and children. They played all their cards. Hell, they even threw in the trump card – INDEPENDENCE. And guess what, the opposing team came to the table, spat on them and left the room. Of course, why would they play?They already have all the chips. Now, all we are left to do is somehow find a way to make ourselves not look like bhungus (donkeys). I mean what do you expect when you go to shake hands with the devil. It’s embarrassing and frustrating.  But what can we do. When you are part of the family, sometimes you have to clean up the mess created by other family members and hope that they won’t repeat the same mistake. But in all likelihood that’s exactly what they are going to do. Aren't they? So the Tibetan people should seriously ask themselves whether they have stomach for another round of humiliation or learn from the past mistakes and declare enough is enough and start demanding what has always been rightfully ours – RANGZEN – and - NO LESS.

We may not win but we will never admit defeat before the game is over. We will not die away, China will have to come and strangle us. And even when we are dead,we will keep haunting them. But we will never say Tibet is part of China. We will never say Tibet is a “internal matter of China”. We will never sleep with the enemy in false hope that the enemy will someday love us. We have been slaves of our own ignorance and paid a heavy price for it; we don’t want to be slaves to the Chinese and their bed-fellows. 

We must never give up our Right to Independence.

BHOD RANGZEN!!!

This is Why We need Political Party System - October 2, 2013

As evidenced by the recent political drama in Dharamsala, the problem with "Tibetan Exile Government System" is that it does not have a platform from where those who don't agree with the official policy can speak their mind openly and without fear of being ostracized. In other words, It is the lack of political party system. That is the reason why CTA is dominated by only one party of a few people who constantly tout their faith and loyalty to HHDL as if that alone constitutes accomplishments. Whoever is the loudest in expressing his or her loyalty to HHDL can accuse anyone else for not being loyal or faithful enough. Far from enjoying a respectable democracy these people are plunging all of us into a North Korea like state. I am sure this is not what HH had wished for when he devolved his political power. There are people in our government who have no real contribution to our cause except to sit in their chair and give lectures (with subtle threats) to kids and uneducated Po Las and Mo Las in settlements and yet have the nerve to accuse people with real accomplishments of hurting our cause. There are a lot of Chithues who are clearly Rangzen believers, and have sacrificed so much for its cause, but can't speak up because of fear of being accused of hurting DL's feeling by these people.

We desperately need some change in how we conduct our political business. People are really sick and tired of our government being hijacked by few people who are constantly trying to bring back HHDL in to politics despite his clear wish and request not to do so. Yet these people claim to represent HHDL’s wishes and claim to be the most loyal to him.

The politicians in Dhasa may not notice but people are really waking up. As I see it, we are already in a mass movement. We only need a body that represents this movement. That is why I joined Tibetan National Congress (TNC). Because I believe TNC will play an important role by representing the Rangzen voices and ultimately in creating a political environment in which people can freely express their opinion without fear and the ideals of democracy are truly honored and respected. The only thing TNC has to do at this point in time is to consolidate the Rangzen voices and represent them in the CTA. And that can be achieved if more and more people sign up for membership and pledge allegiance to the ideals and goals TNC represents.

We Rangzen believers are no small number, in fact, I would say we are majority. But the problem is we don't have a body that represent our voice in the higher echelons of our government, at least not until now. Needless to say there are many great organizations like TYC, SFT, Chushi Ghangdruk and Guchusum etc. and they  play  very important role in our struggle but in the end they are all NGOs without real political teeth. To my deep disappointment GuChusum just recently changed its goal to MWA - http://tinyurl.com/lqjupp6

So, TNC is the only organization, at the moment, which has the strength and the resources to unite the Rangzen voices and represent them in our exile democratic system. TNC's resolution clearly states that it believes in democracy and recognizes HHDL as the symbol of Tibetan Nation.  So TNC is clearly NOT anti Dalai Lama as some people are accusing. It is rather Pro-Rangzen, Pro-Democracy and Pro-Tibetans.

I urge all those who believe in DEMOCRACY and OUR RIGHT TO AN INDEPENDENT TIBET to please join TNC by going to this website: http://www.tibetannationalcongress.org/ OR sign up during “The Rangzen Imperative” events in New York and in later in Canada.

Even if you don't agree with TNC's political objectives but believe in the Ideals of Democracy and Freedom of Speech, you should support the formation of TNC and respect people's right and decision to join TNC.

I write this as a proud member of TNC.

Thank You.

Kalsang Phuntsok

Written on October 2, 2013

An Unnecessary Resolution - By Kalsang Phuntsok (March 26, 2014)

Today I am writing this as I can no longer stay silent and feign ignorance of this little thing that happened last year at the Tibetan Youth Congress General Body Meeting. This thing has been nagging me ever since. Many people, who were paying attention, have raised questions regarding one section in the final resolution of the 15^th TYC General Body Meeting and to the best of my knowledge no explanation has been provided by TYC Centrex so far. And I think TYC has the responsibility to give a clear explanation of this resolution to the public as it has the potential for serious implications on the unity of Tibetan people, democratic principles and our struggle because it sets a dangerous precedent.

I must make it clear to the readers at the outset that I am not a member of TYC. However, like all Tibetans I support TYC and I have tremendous respect for this organization for leading the Tibetan struggle for Independence. It is not my intention to provoke TYC members or even raise questions about those people who pushed for this resolution. It is possible that they may have been under outside influence. I have not a shred of doubt that the passage of this resolution was a mistake. And therefore, through this article, I am requesting that TYC Centrex pass a new resolution to strike out Resolution No. 8. And if Centrex wants to continue with Resolution No.8 as is, then give the Tibetan people a clear and honest explanation as to the meaning and purpose of this resolution.

For those who don’t know what the Resolution No. 8 says I have cut and pasted below the section of page 5 of final resolution released last year. You can also access the document at this link http://tinyurl.com/lyxnebm .

I apologize for the poor quality image but this is the best that is available on TYC’s website.

The resolution declares that TYC has had no relationship with Tibetan National Congress (TNC) (Bhod Gyalyong Rangzen Lhentsog) in the past and resolves to never have any relationship with TNC in the future also.

As the readers can see, the second part of the resolution which I have bolded and underlined above is what worries me. Being a member of TNC, I was shocked and saddened to see this resolution. It is one thing to say TYC did not had any relationship with TNC in the past, but it is a different matter altogether to say TYC will never have any relationship with TNC in the future as well. To the best of my knowledge TYC has not passed such a resolution even against the Chinese Communist Party or any other anti-Tibetan organization. Then why is TNC, which is a pro-Tibetan Independence organization whose membership is entirely made up of Tibetan activists and supporters being singled out and condemned in this manner. TNC, like TYC believes that the goal of Tibetan struggle should be independence and believes in democracy and freedom of speech (Readers can access TNC’s Founding Resolution and other information about TNC at this link: http://www.tibetnc.org/).

Was this resolution passed under pressure from a section of the TYC who is insisting the organization give up the goal of Rangzen? Was it a politically motivated move by that section to isolate TNC because TNC is uncompromisingly committed to the goal of Independence?

Someone tried to put me at ease the other day by reasoning that it could be because TNC has a secondary role as an exile political party and that since TYC is a strictly non-political organization it needed to distance itself from TNC.  But then TNC is not the first nor the only political party formed in exile. No such resolutions were ever passed against any other exile political party by TYC. And I wonder what TYC has to say to the majority of TNC members who are past and present members of TYC as well. What does TYC suppose these members should do?

It is blindingly obvious to any reasonable thinking person that this resolution serves no conceivable purpose for TYC and its larger goal of Tibetan national independence. Instead it raises all kinds of questions about the organization and weakens our unity and our struggle. And that very well might have been the intention all along of those who have orchestrated this resolution behind the scene.

I am respectfully requesting TYC Centrex to please rescind Resolution No.8 and spare the Tibetan people an unnecessary cause of worry and anxiety. I have always commended TYC’s policy to stay out of exile politics but this resolution gives the impression that it has unwittingly become an instrument of politics of some elements within or outside the organization with questionable motives.

Whatever differences that may exist in our small exile community can be overcome without affecting our unity. There is not a single society on earth which doesn’t have diversity of opinions and ideology. The question we should ask ourselves is do we want to stoop to the level of cheating, lying, ostracizing and intimidating the other side to make our case or do we want to be true to ourselves and uphold the democratic ideals, freedom of speech and have respect for those whose opinions you don’t necessarily always agree with.

I think we get along pretty well most of the time despite our differences and I am sure we can do even better…if we are allowed to.                 

Bhod Gyallo!!!